Handheld data-capture devices, such as bar code scanners, smart card readers, hand-held medical computers, mobile devices enabled with POS systems, and the like are becoming ubiquitous. These devices, which are essentially hand-held computers, are available in variety of form factors, including smartphones, handheld PDAs, tablets, and single-purpose devices.
Most of these hand-held data-capture devices include keys and a screen and are intended to be held like a phone. As a consequence, when a user holds the device for use, the wrist is rotated so the hand is in a palm-up orientation and the device is supported by the palm and four fingers (index through pinky). The buttons can be “pressed” using the thumb or the fingers of the free hand.
In scan-intensive applications, the rotated-wrist orientation leads to discomfort and fatigue. For this reason, many hand-held data-capture units are now available with a “pistol grip.” The pistol grip, which enables a user to hold the data-capture unit in the manner of hand gun, typically includes a “trigger,” which can be used to actuate a function of the unit (e.g., the scanner, etc.).
The pistol grip places the wrist is in a neutral (i.e., non-rotated), “hand-shake” orientation, which results in less discomfort and user fatigue. Furthermore, the trigger of the pistol grip is actuated using the index finger whereas the thumb is used when the device is held in a palm-up configuration. The latter is the far-more fatiguing approach. Alternatively, fingers of the free hand can be used when the device is held in a palm-up configuration. Although not particularly fatiguing, that requires the use of a second hand to operate the data capture device.
In some prior-art hand-held data-capture devices, the pistol grip is an integral part of the device itself; it is not separable. In some others, the pistol grip is an add-on, adapted to removably couple to the data-capture device. For an add-on pistol grip, the manufacturer must address issues such as how to provide a suitably robust mechanical connection between the grip and the device as well as how to create a reliable electrical connection between the trigger of the pistol grip and the data-capture device.